History and heritage

South Africa's national anthem

It's one tune that Jacob Zuma, Helen Zille, Hashim Amla, Jean de Villiers, and Julius
Malema all know the words to. It pulls together two anthems, five languages – and
more than 49-million people. South Africans, take ownership of your song!

History: two anthems into one

Before South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the country had two anthems –
an official and an unofficial one. The official anthem was Die Stem, in
English The Call of South Africa. The unofficial anthem, Nkosi
Sikelel' iAfrika, was a symbol of independence and resistance to apartheid, sung
by the majority of the population and at all anti-apartheid rallies and gatherings.
In the official anthem of the new South Africa, the two anthems merge into one.
Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa)Die Stem van Suid Afrika was originally a poem, written by CJ
Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in
1921. At the time, the South African Broadcasting Corporation played both
God
save the King and Die Stem to close their daily radio broadcasts,
and so the public became familiar with the Afrikaans anthem.
Die Stem was first sung publicly at the official hoisting of the national flag
in Cape Town on 31 May 1928, but it was not until 2 May 1957 that the government
accepted it as the official national anthem. In 1962 the English version, The Call
of South Africa, was accepted for official use.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrikaNkosi was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission
school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in isiXhosa as a
hymn. Seven additional stanzas in isiXhoza were later added by the poet Samuel
Mqhayi. A Sesotho version was published by Moses Mphahlele in 1942.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was popularised at concerts held in Johannesburg by
Reverend JL Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir. It became a popular
church hymn that was
later adopted as an anthem at political meetings, sung as an act of defiance.
The first stanza is generally sung in isiXhosa or isiZulu, followed by the Sesotho version.
Apparently there is no standard version or translations of Nkosi, and the
words may vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion.
SAinfo reporterReviewed: 4 June 2012

Enoch Sontonga, a teacher and lay preacher from the Eastern Cape, died in obscurity over 100 years ago, aged just 33. But he left an indelible legacy. His hymn, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God bless Africa), went on to become Africa's most famous anthem of black struggle against oppression.